Butterfly Identification
Butterfly identification is not an easy task. That’s because there are so many species of butterflies--20,000 in the world, and the fact that many butterflies have very similar colors. The best thing to do if you have an interest in butterfly identification is to get a field guide to butterflies and a pair of binoculars with the right focus for observing butterflies.
Colors, edgings, stripes, and spots are all used as a means of butterfly identification. Some people take along a butterfly journal where they can jot down the butterfly’s colors and markings so they can look it up at home in a butterfly guide. There is a great online reference for butterflies as well called Butterflies and Moths of North America. Using it you can identify a butterfly by family, photo, and more. If you can draw, it’s a good idea to sketch the butterfly with the wing pattern and colorization as many butterflies are similar in appearance.
There are several online sources for butterfly identification and you can seek out resources at libraries as well. If you are close enough and able to, taking a photo is a great tool to help you with identification. Some online sites that can help with identification are bug guide, the butterfly website, thebutterflysite, and web images of North American Moth Species.
There are several good butterfly identification guides you can use at a library or buy if you become passionate about butterflies. Among these are: Peterson’s First Guide to Butterflies and Moths of North America--a simplified guide to the common butterflies and moths of North America, A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies by Opler and Malilul, and Peterson’s First Guide to Caterpillars of North America.
Caterpillars are particularly hard to identify because they change in size and color each time they shed their skin. A good way to identify a caterpillar is to identify the plant it was on. Butterfly identification is aided by the fact that many species of butterflies prefer particular plants. A great example of this is the Monarch Butterfly and its preference for milkweed.
Another means of butterfly identification is to use as many local resources as you can. For instance, many farm extension service offices have people who would be very familiar with all of the insects in the area, including butterflies. If you live near a university or college you might find that they have a natural sciences department that has butterfly identification resources as well.
The more you are involved in discovering and identifying butterflies, the more likely you are to become passionate about butterflies. Someday you might even spot an elusive, rare butterfly that no one has seen in years!